If it doesn’t feel like late December in Chattooga County and across Northwest Georgia, you’re not imagining it. A warmer-than-normal pattern is taking hold and will only strengthen as we move through the week and into the Christmas holiday.
A Lyerly man was arrested Thursday of last week and booked into the Floyd County Jail on a felony warrant charging him with aggravated battery.
According to the warrant, 35-year-old Branden Lee Salas is accused of attacking a woman at a location on Blacks Bluff Road in Rome on May 8. The victim reportedly suffered a fracture to her left arm.
In addition to the aggravated battery charge, Salas is being held on a probation violation. Jail records also list him as a fugitive from justice, citing an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Cherokee County, Alabama, on unspecified charges.
Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report in its annual listing of the “Best Hospitals for Maternity Care.”
Here is the latest arrest report from the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office for Saturday, December 20, 2025:
Atrium Health Floyd Emergency Medical Services is raising the bar for emergency response in Northwest Georgia by equipping ambulance teams with life-saving blood products and plasma to begin transfusions before patients reach the hospital—a move clinicians say can significantly improve survival in severe trauma and bleeding emergencies.
State Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, is continuing his push to protect Georgia residents from cost increases as the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) prepares to vote on an agreement that could allow Georgia Power to add nearly 10 gigawatts of new generation by 2031.
Blood Assurance is urgently asking community members to donate blood after a sudden spike in trauma cases has severely strained the nonprofit’s already thin supply.
The Rome Police Department continues to investigate a homicide discovered in the John Graham Homes area near Hull Avenue and Cedar Avenue.
Georgia state Sen. Colton Moore, who represents Senate District 53 (including Chattooga County and surrounding Northwest Georgia communities), is signaling a run for Congress in Georgia’s 14th District, pitching himself as a combative conservative ready to take his fight from Atlanta to Washington.
Drivers in Armuchee should plan for a traffic change starting Monday as Floyd Springs Road is scheduled to close for construction.